DOC launches duty evasion inquiry on innersprings

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Commerce is launching an inquiry to determine whether certain imports are evading duties on uncovered innerspring units. The DOC initiated the action after Leggett & Platt, a lead petitioner in the antidumping case, alleged that Malaysian manufacturer Reztec Inds. Sdn Bdh is importing key Chinese-made components of the innerspring units and then assembling the parts and shipping them from Malaysia. It states that this warrants an anticircumvention investigation because the Chinese production accounts for most of the total production costs associated with the innerspring units, which are largely used in mattresses. Leggett & Platt also has found that imports of uncovered innerspring units from Malaysia have risen steadily since an order imposing antidumping duties on innerspring units from China, Vietnam and South Africa was first imposed in February 2009. In response to Leggett & Platt's original petition in December 2007, the U.S. government launched an investigation that determined unfairly priced imports of innerspring units had injured domestic producers such as Leggett. This resulted in duties on innerspring units from China, Vietnam and South Africa ranging from 164% to 234%. These duties are assigned to the overseas producers, but paid by importers of record on the goods they import from those manufacturers. The DOC said that Leggett & Platt's documentation regarding the allegations meets its requirements to do a circumvention investigation. If it receives further information regarding alleged circumvention of duties by other Malaysian producers, it will pursue those inquiries as well. The notice said the DOC intends to issue a final determination on the case within 300 days of the May 23 notice in the Federal Register.